1 Colossians 2:4-5 – “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
Many times we hear “Oh! That pastor is so good. I wish he would put his hand on my head and pray for me then I will be healed”, “only if pastor prays I can get healed”, “God has given pastor this ministry to heal people only his prayer will heal me”. Is there something wrong with these statements? Is the believer’s belief getting displaced or sidetracked to glorifying the pastor than believing in Jesus? Pastors, worship leaders, children’s church leaders, people in authority in the church are there for a reason. They spend time with the Lord and get their guidance from the Lord in all their tasks. It is only then that they can be true leaders and servants of the Master. Only then can they guide the flock of sheep with whom God has entrusted them. They are responsible for those sheep and their spiritual growth.
Yes, the people mentioned above are also human. They have authority placed upon their shoulders. With this authority also comes a double portion of temptation from the devil. Evil may try to thwart their plans of growing the church and addressing more people. Evil may try to sway their ideas of servanthood to grandoise and ruling. The only way, as humans, to beat the devil at his plans is go to the living Word of God. To use God’s Word to resist the devil so that he might flee (as said in the Bible). To use the Word as a sword and shield. The only way to grow spiritually and be a wise leader is through Christ Jesus and by building oneself in the Word.
As believers, we must not depend on the words of any man (their promises or their wisdom in the flesh). We must depend only on God but we can see the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit in them. We will be drawn to the power of God. We can and will succeed only if we are obedient to God’s Word. We must seek God and His Word and all other things, including His rest, will be given to us. Seek God not man. Seek God’s Word not man’s wisdom. Seek God’s revealed wisdom to man and verify this from our life manual, the Bible. When we seek God in our daily life, the Holy Spirit will provide discernment against things contrary to God’s Word. Then, the Holy Spirit will also provide comfort and guidance in God’s ways and to God’s Will for our lives. Look only for God. Follow only Jesus.
